Zuppa Toscana

This Zuppa Toscana, with Italian sausage, potatoes, and kale, paired with a salad and some bread, is all you need to fill you up (and warm you up) for lunch or dinner. 

This Zuppa Toscana is a take on the popular soup from Olive Garden. While the name means Tuscan soup, it's not necessarily an authentic soup from Tuscany. Regardless, this soup is completely tasty in its own right. 

I must confess that, up until recently, I never actually tried the Olive Garden version of this soup because I always ordered the pasta fagioli soup with the "unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks!" I've since switched up my order once a friend convinced me to try this soup!

Ingredients in This Zuppa Toscana:

Prosciutto: An Italian ham that you can typically find thinly sliced. You can also substitute thinly sliced deli ham, chopped pancetta or even bacon. 

Olive Oil: For frying the prosciutto. If you substitute bacon, you can skip the oil. 

Onion and Garlic. 

Italian Pork Sausage: Either sweet or hot, bulk or links (with the casings removed). I used hot Italian sausage. You could also substitute Italian-style turkey sausage. 

Chicken Broth: I used reduced sodium. 

Russet Potatoes: I used two large potatoes, for a total of about two pounds. You can also substitute Yukon Gold for a less starchy potatoe. Plus, you don't have to peel the Yukon Golds. 

Heavy Cream. 

Kale: You can use baby kale, curly kale, or Italian kale. Be sure to remove the thick rib in the center before chopping the kale and adding it to the soup. 

From your Pantry: All purpose flour, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. 

Optional Ingredients: You can also add some crushed red pepper if you like. And, of course, you can garnish this soup with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

To Make this Soup:

This soup is so easy to make. 

First, fry the prosciutto in the olive oil for just a minute or two and then remove the meat from the pan while leaving the flavored oil in the pan. Then, add the onions and garlic and cook everything for a couple of minutes. 

After that, add the sausage and cook until it is just cooked through. Stir in the flour and then pour in the broth, add the potatoes, and then toss in most of the prosciutto, the salt, and the pepper. Simmer, covered, for an hour. 

Finally, stir in the cream and the kale and cook for a minute or two. Garnish with some reserved prosciutto. 

Make-Ahead and Storage:

Leftovers of this soup are good for about four to five days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze this soup for about three months. If you are planning on making and freezing this soup, I'd recommend slightly undercooking the potatoes before reheating. 

I like to add more chopped kale to the soup when I reheat leftovers. It makes me feel kind of virtuous. Plus, if I'm in a hurry, I don't have to make a salad. 

Serve this soup garnished with some reserved crispy prosciutto and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese. 

The Alphabet Challenge:

This year, I joined a group of food bloggers in an Alphabet Challenge, posting recipes to represent every letter in the alphabet. 

I loved every part of this challenge, although the year did seem to go by faster.... or maybe it's just because I'm older anyway. It was so much fun (even the letter "X").. and I'm happy to report that we will be repeating the challenge next year. 

We posted every other week. I only missed one letter, the letter "F," mostly because I wasn't paying attention to the calendar. 

The Alphabet Challenge Year in Review:

A - Apple Buns

B - Bagel Chips

C - Cheesy Burger Buns

D - Durum Wheat Sesame Bread

E - Egg Bread Hoagie Rolls

G - Gyoza Wrapper Pizza Bites

H - Harissa Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

I - Italian Pane di Genzano

J - Johnnycake Cobblers

K - Kung Pao Chicken

L - Pork Lo Mein

M - Overnight Muesli

N - Homemade Fig Newtons

O - Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche

P - Pork Carnitas

Q - Whole Wheat Quinoa Bread

R - Pan Seared Scallops with Black Beans and Red Pepper Sauce

S -  Cold Sesame Noodles

T - Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls

U - Udon Noodles with Chicken

V - Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream

W - Wonton Soup

X- XO Mazemen

Y - Japanese Milk Bread with Yudane

Z - Zuppa Toscana

Z is for Ziti, Zbaglione, Zuppa, Zucchini, Zhoug, and Za'atar: 

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Easy Ziti Bake 
• Culinary Cam: Zabaglione alle Mandorle 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Zuppa Toscana 
• Blogghetti: Baked Ziti with Ground Beef 
• Food Lust People Love: Zucchini with Bacon Pangrattato 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Zucchini Balls & Chicken Bake
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Kolokithipites - Zuchini Pie
• A Messy Kitchen: Zucchini Jam 
• Magical Ingredients: Zhoug Zalouk Paratha Pockets 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Zesty Italian Balsamic Baked Oyster Crackers 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Za’atar Swirls

Zuppa Toscana

Yield: 6 servings

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 15 MTotal time: 1 H & 30 M

This Zuppa Toscana, with Italian sausage, potatoes, and kale, paired with a salad and some bread, is all you need to fill you up (and warm you up) for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 ounces of prosciutto, chopped
• 1 large yellow or brown onion, diced
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound sweet or hot Italian pork sausage, either bulk or or encased (casings removed)
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock
• 2 large russet potatoes (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds) peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch dice
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher (Diamond Crystal) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups chopped kale, lightly packed
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a 6 quart Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped prosciutto and cook until the prosciutto is slightly crispy. Using a strainer, remove the prosciutto from the pan and transfer it to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the oil in the Dutch oven.
2. Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat for about two minutes. Add the sausage and cook, making sure to break up the sausage into bite-sized pieces. Cook for about four minutes.
3. Add the flour and cook for one minute. Add the broth, potatoes, and most of the prosciutto back into the pot, reserving some of the prosciutto for garnish later. Scrape up any charred bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the pan to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for one hour.
4. Remove the lid, add the cream and the kale and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Serve garnished with the reserved prosciutto and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

602

Fat (grams)

45 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

18 g

Carbs (grams)

31 g

Fiber (grams)

2 g

Net carbs

28 g

Sugar (grams)

3 g

Protein (grams)

21 g

Cholesterol (grams)

109 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2024/12/zuppa-toscana.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

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